Thursday, May 31, 2007

Thanks to "Life Of Mel" for alerting me about this! Here's a screenshot of our plug on VH1's website! Congrats yet again to the chorus posse!

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The major media coverage (including VH1, USA Today, The New York Daily News, Nylon Magazine, Blog of the Day on Blogger, Perez Hilton's site, Pink Is The New Blog, and on all the Tori Amos forums) the chorus received in May surrounding the Tori Amos/PS22 Chorus experience has boosted the number of visitors and pages viewed on the site ASTRONOMICALLY! Chorus, here's a chart so you can see just how much of an impact you have made all over the world since we started the website in September.

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All together you've had 23,520 visitors to the site, and 41,739 pages viewed! And most unbelievably, there have been 400,000 viewings of PS22 Chorus videos on the internet!! Chorus, you're amazing and people all over the world are taking notice. Below is a chart representing the percentages of countries our website visitors are from. See kids?! Math CAN be fun!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

After getting preliminary instruction on this song by Tori Amos herself, it seemed only fitting that we follow through.... Here are the results so far from today's rehearsal. Not too shabby!! And our Breana sounds G-R-E-A-T on the solo!!! YAY BANANA!!!!!! (Don't hurt me.)

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Thanks to Tanyanika Samuels (the phenomenal writer), the uncredited (but very cool and supportive!!) photographer, and the Daily News who all did such a great job of capturing the excitement of the day!

Monday, May 14, 2007

Apparently Tori was definitely deeply moved by her experience with the P.S.22 Chorus last Friday! (See previous posts!) On a new interview with Nylon Magazine, which was conducted after our Sony event with Tori, she had this to say:

"When you have children that can sing your music -- I think as a songwriter -- to know that other people are singing your songs -- there's no greater feeling...."

Nylon Magazine is a highly respected periodical in the fashion industry, showcasing the lastest in cutting edge couture fashion.

AWESOME!!! Congrats chorus on receiving yet even more proof that you have the ability to inspire people, even (as Jordan points out in our 4th Tori video) a celebrity!

It seems like The 22 Chorus Posse has been making some serious impressions on the internet lately! Our blog was the featured blog of the day on Blogger.com, AND also we were written up on the USA Today Website!

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

With all of our recent Tori Amos excitement(not the least of which was having our video of singing "Dragon" for Tori (and inciting tears) UNBELIEVABLY becoming Sunday's NUMBER 2 most watched YouTube video, and being showcased on multiple celebrity blog sites), I have received many requests for MP3 recordings of our Tori covers. So here are our Tori selections available for downlad. And not to worry -- for those of you anticipating this year's chorus's Tori covers (i.e. Dragon, Bouncing Off clouds, Happy Worker....) -- I will be recording and posting them soon. But here's the list as it stands.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Well yesterday was a dream come true. I'm not ashamed to say it may well have been the most amazing day of my life -- and I think my chorus feels the same! I'm sure it is quite obvious by the abundance of her songs on our blog, Tori Amos plays quite a big part in our repertoire. Well thanks to the talent, dedication, and hard work of our chorus, they earned themselves the opportunity of a lifetime. After seeing some of the videos of the chorus (that are posted on our blog), Tori not only agreed, but insisted on meeting the most talented kids in the world at the Sony Atrium in New York City! She even insisted on singing WITH them!!

As you will hear from the mouths of the children themselves, this was an unforgettable experience for all involved -- and certainly the music teacher!! It was such a blessing for me personally to be able to share my pride and joy (the chorus) with my own personal hero and inspiration.

Tori, the children and I are so grateful for your time, as we all know you are VERY busy promoting your amazing new album. We wish you all the success you deserve and thank you with all our hearts for what you've given us -- the memory of a lifetime. It was so gratifying to see that we touched your heart the way you've touched ours.

Thank you to the people at SONY (Kristen, Lois, & Sarah) for arranging this cataclysmic union between two of the greatest musical talents out there -- Tori Amos and The PS22 Chorus!

Now go watch the festivities!!

The PS22 Chorus make Tori cry!! (We are inclined to think in a good way....)

Tori sings an acoustic guitar version of "Father's Son" with the chorus! Her voice is 'liquid diamonds' here.

Some reflections from the chorus on our unforgettable day (and some Sanjaya hating from Mariama!).... And to my chorus members who are reading this, I am so proud of how wise you are in understanding the depth of the gift we've been given. Heck, I'm just so proud of you!!

UPDATE 5/5/07 (More pics)

Tori Protected by the Sopranos.....Mariama: "Tori can SING!" And Tyrell (our local paparazzi!) taking a break from snapping pics of Tori on his cell phone!Talented AND Beautiful!"Repeat After Me...."Tori Gets Down To The Music"My Chorus Is Laughing At Me, Tori...."It's A Happy DayThe altos singing their hearts out for Tori!Tori Amos delighted to have met The PS22 Chorus Posse!Tori applauding a job well done!! ThE cHoRuS rOckS!

UPDATE: There is much more posted throughout the blog on the aftermath of our Tori Amos adventure, including pics, autographs, write-ups in The New York Daily News, USA Today, VH1 Blog, and much more. Tori herself has since mentioned the chorus in interviews (the quotes at the top left of the page on the sidebar), and those articles can also be found on the blog if you look in the May, June, and July 2007 archives.

Tori Amos

"They were so good! Their arrangements -- their sound -- it was so good.... It was...... disarming. It means so much that they took it and made it their own."-- Tori Amos after a private performance by the PS22 Chorusof her songs at the Sony Atrium in N.Y.C.

Common

"I feel honored to perform with PS22. The energy brought me up to a natural high on music and art, and just the spirits of you all. You all are so exciting to perform with..... I'm gonna remember this day forever."--hip hop legendCommonon performing with the PS22 Chorus at the National Tree Lighting 2009 for President Obama

David Cook

"Oh my God! It's ridiculous... It is incredible how good you guys are!!"-- David Cook, American Idol winner, after singing with PS22 Chorus!

Bonnie Hunt

Innocence Mission

"What a beautiful, beautiful, joyful version. It is a huge improvement on the original. The children brought tears to my eyes with their glorious singing and smiles. I so love the energy of this performance, the arrangement, the harmonies, everything."-- Karen PerisofThe Innocence Missionin apersonal message to the PS22 Chorusafter seeing the kids' video of the song "There" from their album, GLOW

Tribute WTC

Wikipedia

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IMPROVS

Improvising is a skill that really demands great natural musical ability, particularly to do it at 9 or 10 years old! All of the following songs were being created and recorded as you hear them here (with some minor post-editing). PS22 Chorus member JUSTIN, with occasional super-special guests including legendary PS22 Chorus Alumni CLIVE, DEON, BEN, ADIZA, KARIMA, BRI-AH, & AMANDA D., demonstrates the technique brilliantly.

Stevie Nicks

B.J. Novak

"My God! We watch you all the time at work, at The Office, all the actors, all the writers... You guys are amazing! I swear to you, you're an inspiration, keep it up!"-- B.J. Novak, star of The Office, raves about the PS22 Chorusat The Webby Awards!

Sinead O'Connor

"Most beautiful, joyous thing I seen apart from me own children ." -- Sinead O'Connorafter seeing the PS22 Chorus video of her song "Jackie!" PS22 was then invited to be the opening act for her concert at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.

Passion Pit

"These kids made the record what we had been dreaming it to be, as they are integral parts of three songs.... It felt so unbelievable to have the exact sound that I wanted coming through the headphones...."-- Michael Angelakosof Passion Pit on recording with the PS22 Chorus

Nancy Pelosi

"...You indeed, as you sing, 'rule the world!'"--Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosiafter hearing the chorus sing at the Capitol